Govt: Process to revise MOP on judicial appointments ‘under consideration’

New Delhi: The government on Thursday informed the Rajya Sabha that the process to revise the Memorandum of Procedure (MOP) for appointment of judges in higher judiciary is under consideration and further steps in this regard will be taken only after it is complete.

Replying to supplementaries during the Question Hour, Minister of State for Law and Justice Arjun Ram Meghwal said consultations are underway on setting up the All-India judicial service and in what form it should be brought in.

Replying to Congress MP Rajeev Shukla’s query on whether the government was bringing in judicial reforms and whether the NJAC would be brought in again, the minister said all know that the National Judicial Appointments Commission Bill was passed by Parliament and the Act was later challenged in the Supreme Court and was struck down.

“After that, a procedure to revise the MoP (Memorandum of Procedure) is under consideration and the next step will be taken up after that process is complete,” Meghwal informed the House.

To another query on whether a national judicial service would be introduced in the country, the minister said, “Article 312 in our Constitution has a provision for the All-India judicial service and this issue has been discussed several times even during conferences of judges.”

“This is an issue which is pending before the Supreme Court. Consultations on this are underway as to in what form this should be brought in. This matter is pending,” Meghwal said.

The Law minister said in our democracy, judiciary is an independent organ of the governance system and is competent to handle all issues.

“Our government is also committed to ensuring the independence of the judiciary. We are ensuring that jointly with the judiciary, judges get a conducive environment to help provide justice to people,” he said.